


Long Time No See

by Kujo1597



Category: Jem and the Holograms (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, No seriously if you love Rio maybe don't read this He's a total jerk here, Okay hear me out Roxy and Kimber would be quite the pair to unleash upon the world, Post-Canon, This is not a Rio redemption arc, mentions of period-typical homophobia, rio being rio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:27:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29615658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kujo1597/pseuds/Kujo1597
Summary: They say that distance makes the heart go fonder.What about when that distance is for six months? A lot can change in six months. But a lot can also stay the same.
Relationships: Kimber Benton/Mary "Stormer" Phillips
Kudos: 3





	Long Time No See

“I noticed all your neighbours call you Mary,” Kimber said.

“Huh? Yeah, when I moved here I was still just Mary Phillips, piano player at some restaurant for tips.”

Kimber’s eyes lit up. “Which one?”

“Ah geeze,” Stormer frowned in thought. “Pretty sure it was ‘The Crystal Garden.’ Wouldn’t it be funny if you did see me?”

“I think I did... I know I’ve been there a few years ago.”

“Hm...” Stormer stood up and walked over to her bookshelf and opened a drawer then pulled out a photo, eventually she sat back down next to Kimber. “I haven’t shown anybody this, only Pizzazz and my neighbours know about it. I used to look pretty different back then.”

Stormer handed the photo to Kimber and she took a look at it and screamed out, “I know you!”

“I would hope so, we’re dating,” Stormer cringed at Kimber’s volume.

“No I mean I absolutely saw you at your old job!” Kimber pointed at the Stormer in the photo. “I remember seeing the really beautiful piano player with the gorgeous rich singing voice. I told Daddy that I really wanted to talk to her and he gave me some money to have an excuse to go up to her. But I chickened out in the end… **And that was you!”**

“Beautiful?” Stormer stared at Kimber.

“What happened?” Kimber asked.

Stormer snorted. “That’s a weird way of putting it. You sound so disappointed. Most people would say, ‘hey good for you, dropping all that weight’ or ‘you look so pretty’ or something like that.”

“Well... yeah you are pretty, but you were back then too.”

“To answer your question, marketing. Pizzazz didn’t care how I looked because I’m good at what I do, and I honestly didn’t either, but Eric thought that The Misfits would be easier to market if we were all skinny and pretty. And he talked me into it. …Mostly because I had already quit my job and well, bills need paying and food needs buying.”

“That’s so awful,” Kimber said with a frown.

“I gotta tell ya, it’s a lot of work and I’m getting sick of it,” Stormer stretched out.

“Then stop. You don’t work for Eric anymore,” Kimber shrugged.

Stormer made a derisive noise. “I work for Riot. You really think _he’d_ be okay with an overweight performer?”

“Probably not… But at the same time, The Misfits are an established brand and have a dedicated following so it really shouldn’t matter.”

“Hm…” The wheels started to turn in Stormer’s head.

Kimber put her hand on Stormer’s lap and smiled warmly. “In the end it’s up to you. It’s your body. And I’m going to love and support you no matter what.”

“Thanks Kimber,” Stormer put her forehead against Kimber’s. “I’ll give it some thought.”

* * *

After six months of working out of town on Jem’s latest movie The Holograms arrived back in California and somebody was there to greet them in the airport; a chubby woman who had curly dark blue hair and she was waving at Kimber.

Who squealed.

“MARY!!!”

Aja and Rio both winced.

“And suddenly every dog in a ten mile radius looked up,” Aja said after Kimber had run off. And Rio nodded.

Kimber practically leapt into Stormer’s arms who picked her up with a grin and spun her girlfriend around. Then after the quick spin the two kissed softly.

“So... what do you think?” Stormer asked shyly.

“You look as beautiful as the day I first saw you,” Kimber replied. “But what’s really important is, are you happy?”

“I am.”

“Good,” Kimber smiled. “I’m glad.”

“So how was your trip?” Stormer asked.

“Oh it was great!” Kimber replied cheerfully and then she went over all the details with the most radiant smile Stormer had ever seen.

Or maybe it just looked that way because of how long it’s been since Stormer last saw the love of her life.

Kimber held Stormer’s hand as she turned to face Jem. “Well, I have plans to do a little catching up with my girlfriend. I’ll meet you back at home.”

“What about your luggage?” Jem asked.

“I don’t see why it can’t sit in my trunk,” Stormer gave Jem a shrug.

“Yeah exactly, there’s nothing in there that can’t take a little heat,” Kimber added. “If it makes you feel better, we can swing by Stormer’s house and drop it off.”

“Works for me,” Stormer nodded. “It’s not out of the way.”

“It sounds like you two have planned it all out,” Jem smiled softly. “Okay, have fun.”

“Will do!” Kimber and Stormer said in unison then they started to giggle as they ran off.

“They’re so sweet,” Raya sounded like she was about to die from their cuteness. “I hope I can find love like that one day.”

“I know…” Jem couldn’t stop smiling. “I was so wrong about Stormer.”

“We all were,” Shana said.

Rio grumbled something that nobody was able to make out.

After a little bit of searching the couple found Stormer’s orange clunker of a car. Stormer opened up the driver’s side door and popped the trunk for Kimber. Then after Kimber put her luggage away she got into the passenger’s seat.

“Kimber Benton! You’re coming with me!” A gruff voice came from the back seat.

Kimber screamed and grabbed the door handle to make a break for it.

“ROXY!” Stormer shouted. “I told you no kidnapping jokes!”

“I didn’t think she’d get _that_ scared!” Roxy stopped disguising her voice.

Kimber caught her breath. “Oh gosh. Roxy. I’m happy to see you and I love you. But please don’t do that again. I’ve been kidnapped so many times and it’s always terrifying.”

“Christ…” Roxy’s voice was quiet. “Sorry, I had no idea you were so messed up about it. Well… uh… Welcome back.” Roxy’s words became strained near the end.

“Thank you,” Kimber sounded back to her usual bubbly self. “Tasteless joke aside, I seriously am happy to see you.”

“It’s been forever since I saw my second favourite drinking buddy. Miiiiissed yooouuu.”

“Missed you too.”

“How was it working with Sean?”

Stormer was about to scold Roxy for having zero tact, but Kimber spoke first.

“Oh it was no problem at all. We were still on good terms when we broke up. He’s a great guy so we stayed friends.”

“Does Sean know about you and Stormer?”

“He does. He met her, after all. When she snuck onto the set however many months back.”

“Thank you Clash for the inspiration,” Stormer started the car and started to drive to her house.

“I should have figured something was up when my favourite dessert was dropped off,” Kimber smiled dreamily at the memory.

“Sean is actually a pretty cool guy. I only felt a little resentment from him, and that was only because of Pizzazz. He seemed really chill about me and Kimber being a thing.”

“Huh,” Roxy leaned back in her seat. “I’m glad he’s such a standup guy.”

Roxy’s words rang hollow to Kimber. “You’re disappointed that there was no drama, aren’t you?”

“Yeah a little.”

“You’re terrible.”

“Hey you’re friends with me, so what does that say about you?”

“That I’m so sweet I can be friends with anyone,” Kimber fluttered her eyelashes.

Stormer cracked up. “In some ways you’re worse than Roxy. You take full advantage of being cute and feel zero shame about it.”

“It’s not like I _ask_ people to do things for me,” Kimber shrugged. “But if they’re going to, I won’t stop them.”

“You’re the fucking worst,” Roxy said with a snicker. “It’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back.”

* * *

“Do you want your luggage to get brought in?” Stormer asked after she parked in her driveway. “We’ll probably spend a little while at my place. I don’t know about you, but I missed physical contact.”

“Gross,” Roxy spoke up from the back seat. “At least wait until I’m gone before you start making out.”

“You’re not staying?” Kimber asked.

“No way,” Roxy replied. “I just wanted to welcome you back at the airport. I couldn’t wait until we went out tonight.”

“I didn’t realize I already had plans,” Kimber said, and Stormer snickered.

“Oh _please,_ you totally knew we had plans. How could you not?”

“True,” Kimber giggled. “At least I’m not _too_ jetlagged to go out tonight.”

“I know you two lovebirds, you’re gonna take a nap together this afternoon and sleep some of that off.”

“Oh that does sound good,” Stormer said. “I don’t need a nap, but I wouldn’t complain.”

“Thanks for the idea Roxy,” Kimber said cheerfully.

“Don’t mention it,” Roxy didn’t sound so thrilled.

The trio got out of the car.

“I’m gonna head home now,” Roxy said. “Let you two do all your catching up. Later!”

“Bye Roxy,” Kimber waved goodbye.

With a final casual wave Roxy got on her motorcycle and took off.

Kimber held onto Stormer’s arm as the two walked inside of the house, luggage in-hand.

“Oh yeah,” Stormer opened her door. “Somebody came over for a visit.”

“Who?” Kimber asked and was immediately greeted by a scruffy old orange tabby. “Monty! Hey buddy.”

Kimber crouched down and started to pet the cat.

“He’s been spending more and more time at my place,” Amusement coloured Stormer’s voice. “It’s gotten to the point where if my neighbours haven’t seen him in a while they come here to check.”

“Aw the baby,” Kimber cooed as she picked Monty up.

“Yep, the twenty-something year-old baby.”

“That’s super old for a kitty-cat,” Kimber said in a babyish voice, then switched back to her normal speaking voice. “Maybe he wants to be an indoor-cat now. You should keep him.”

“It’s tempting,” Stormer admitted. “But there’s still the travel issue.”

“Then have one of your neighbours watch him when you’re away. They all like you and him.”

“I’ll… check with a couple of them first.”

“Yeessss!”

“And here you were, laughing at me for saying that a cat is my dream pet.”

“I love Monty, he’s adorable! He looks like a gwumpy old man.”

“He _is_ a grumpy old man.”

“No I mean a human old man. He looks just like my high school principal…”

Stormer stared at Monty. “I just see a cat.”

“Where is your imagination Mary?” Kimber placed Monty on the arm of a nearby chair and started to gesture at his face. “See, this is the bushy mustache, and here’s his shaggy eyebrows, and the look of both exhaustion and disinterest. This is totally my old principal!”

“Yeah I guess I can see it now…” Stormer then laughed. “But why was your principal constantly exhausted and disinterested when you saw him? _Were you a bad student?”_

“No… Sure, I skipped a little school and didn’t do all my homework,” Kimber admitted. “But I was a solid B-student! So not bad at all! _I bet you got straight-As.”_

“Nah, I got a C in gym class, something about not trying hard enough… I think my teacher just hated me,” Stormer said. “But other than that, yeah I was an A-student.”

“Of course you were. You’re ridiculously well organized, and have a great attention to detail.”

“You got that right. And let me guess, _you_ crammed the night before every test. But because you always passed with flying colours you didn’t see any downside.”

“Oh ow,” Kimber put her hands to her chest like she got shot. “But yeah, you’re totally right. I did do that.”

“HA!”

“Jerrica had me talk to Ashley about doing that exact thing. Which, _completely_ backfired because I couldn’t say why it was bad to do. She thought that it might sound better coming from me because I’d be more relatable.”

Stormer chuckled. “Yeah, sometimes moral things don’t sound as convincing when they come from your mom. So that’s when the older sibling gets sent in.”

“Exactly! And because I failed so spectacularly Jerrica sent Aja in after me. She actually did convince Ashley, to be fair.”

“Ashley is a pretty good student. All your girls are. Lela asked me for help with her homework while you were away and wow, I did not remember anything I learned in school. So I pulled a you, and did a quick refresher on the materials.”

“Thanks for helping out with the girls,” Kimber hugged Stormer. “Especially that scare with Marianne. Jerrica felt beyond horrible that she was out of town when it happened.”

“Oh it was no trouble at all,” Stormer rested her head on Kimber’s shoulder. “I like your girls, and they like me. So when Marianne came up to me saying how badly she was in pain of course I took her to the hospital. Anybody would.”

“You paid for it out of your own pocket.”

Stormer shrugged. “I wasn’t using the money. Figured that was more important than anything else I could’ve spent it on.”

“You need to stop being so humble all the time. You’re wonderful. A little girl’s appendix burst and you spent the entire day at the hospital with her. And you even sang and played guitar for the floor.”

“And that was after constantly being mistaken for her mom.”

Kimber giggled and hugged Stormer tighter. “Poor you. People saw you and a child with matching hair flowers and thought you were an adorable mother-daughter duo.”

“When you put it that way it is actually kind of sweet. But it did make things confusing when Mrs. Bailey brought all the other Starlight Girls in to visit.”

“Oh yeah… you eventually gave up on correcting people.”

“It was just easier.”

“And it got you some perks. We’ve had a few girls end up in the hospital over the years and Jerrica always got the mom rights and I didn’t. Sometimes they just want family visiting and legally, I’m not.”

“The law’s stupid.”

“Now, now. I do like being the big sister. And it only means that I have to wait a little extra like, once in a blue moon. Hey wait,” Something dawned on Kimber… “Who was the foster mother when you guys owned Starlight Foundation?”

“Pizzazz.”

“Oh god. Imagine _her_ in that situation.”

Stormer laughed. “She wouldn’t be, _I’d_ suddenly be the foster mom. But I wouldn’t have complained.”

“Of course not, you would’ve done great. And you’ve already proven that to me.”

Kimber flopped onto Stormer’s lap. “You’re the best. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Stormer leaned in and smiled at Kimber softly.

And Kimber returned the smile before cupping Stormer’s cheeks and pulling her in for a kiss.

Once the kiss ended Kimber yawned. “Oh gosh! This isn’t saying anything about you I swear!”

“I know, you had a long flight,” Stormer laughed. “You’re exhausted. So about that nap… Bed or couch?”

“Bed!” Kimber cheered. “I haven’t slept in a comfy bed in for-EVER.”

“Oh yeah… you guys usually stay in a cheaper hotel.”

“What can I say? We grew up thrifty. You kinda have to look for bargains when you have as many kids to look after as my parents did.”

“That’s true, yeah.”

“You should have seen the state of the old Starlight House,” Kimber giggled at the memories. “That’s why I’m so handy you know. We’d all pitch in to fix it because we couldn’t afford to pay anybody. But it was enough, the girls were supported and happy. And in the end, that’s what’s really important.”

“You have a big heart. Those girls are so lucky,” Stormer blushed. “ _I’m_ so lucky.”

“You’re so sweet,” Kimber sounded like she was barely holding it together as she held her hands to her mouth. “I’m the luckiest girl around.”

“Okay Kimber… reign it in a little,” Stormer’s cheeks only turned redder.

“Nope, you said something super nice now you have to deal with having a blubbering mess on your lap.”

Stormer softly laughed. “Yeah I can deal… You’re the cutest mess possible.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about that,” Kimber said with a cute little pout.

“Well now you’re just messing with me,” Stormer smushed Kimber’s cheeks which got her giggling.

“I missed this.”

“So did I. Welcome back.”

“Thanks. It’s great to be home.”

* * *

Kimber woke up from her nap in the same clothes she had slept in on the plane. She didn’t expect to be out for as long as she was. She gazed lovingly at Stormer, not wanting to disturb her.

But… she kind of did if she wanted to get home to change out of her yucky slept-in-twice outfit.

But Stormer was so cute! And nice to cuddle with…

And apparently Monty joined in on the nap at some point so there was also a cat on the pillow just making it harder to disturb the moment.

While Kimber was trying to figure out the best thing to do Stormer cracked open an eye.

“Have a good sleep?” She asked.

“The best in a while,” Kimber replied. “I’m sad I have to leave… But I really do need to change before going out tonight.”

“Should I drive you? Or are you taking a cab?”

“What time is it?”

“Uuuhhhh…” Stormer sat up and looked at her clock. “Wha-HOW?!”

“What time?”

“…Five.”

“Seriously?! How did we sleep for over four hours?”

“I dunno! I wasn’t even tired! So… I guess I’m ordering in pizza tonight.”

“I’m a little pizza’d out,” Kimber admitted. “I ate so much of it during our filming. It’s fast and easy.”

“Chinese then?”

“Yeeessss,” Kimber stretched out with a smile.

“So I guess the plan is a quick dinner, then I take you with me when I pick up Roxy, drop you off at home so you can change, and then we go out for drinks.”

“I can also take a taxi,” Kimber finally sat up. “I always have a secret stash of cash on me. With how many times my group’s been left stranded in the middle of nowhere we’ve just started carrying some at all times. You’ll never guess where Aja keeps her emergency money.”

“…Sorry.”

“Pizzazz and Eric are the ones who should be apologizing. They’re the ones who come up with those schemes. But whatever, even without any meddling Misfits having it has come in handy. So I can’t complain~”

“Okay then. But I do still feel bad for helping.”

“Water under the bridge. There hasn’t been any fowl play in almost a whole year. It was actually really weird doing a movie shoot without any hitches.

A huge weight was lifted from Stormer’s shoulders. “Oh yeah, that’s true. We did stay completely out of it. I don’t think even Clash got involved.”

“Well not completely,” Kimber smiled. “You did drop by to spoil me with fruit tarts. You know the way to a girl’s heart.”

“I know the way to _your_ heart.”

“And that’s what really matters because it’s me you’re dating.”

“True,” Stormer pulled a notepad and out of her bedside table.

“So you did take my advice!” Kimber grinned.

“Yeah, it saved me some sleepless nights. You’re totally right, it is better to just immediately write down your idea so you can just go back to sleep,” Stormer tapped the pen on her chin. “That being said… One of the ideas I wrote down wasn’t even coherent and barely legible. I spent a good half-hour staring at it trying to decipher it.”

“Did you ever do it?”

“No,” Stormer showed the confusing note to Kimber.

Who furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “Yeah that makes zero sense to me. I think one of the words is turtle?”

“Oh I see it too. But why would I write turtle?”

“Maybe it has to do with how slow we’re taking things?”

“Is this slow?”

“Well… for me it is anyway. Maybe it’s not slow by Jerrica or Shana standards.” Kimber draped herself over Stormer. “Which isn’t a bad thing. I’d honestly much rather have this than rush into things again like I did with Jeff.”

“I like what we have so I don’t think that’s why I wrote down turtle,” Stormer decided to give up on the note again. “Ah whatever, couldn’t have been that important if I can’t remember. I took the notebook out so I can write down what you want. I don’t want to forget anything. This is your welcome meal!”

“Beef and broccoli of course, and I like their sesame chicken,” Kimber didn’t hesitate to give her order.

“Fried rice?”

“Absolutely!”

“So those three things, spring rolls, and chicken chow mein. Wow…” Stormer read over the list again. “We’re having a feast tonight.”

“Is it too much food?”

“Nah,” Stormer replied. “Now, you think you can get off of me? I have an order to place.”

Kimber playfully debated. “Yeah I guess I should. I’m famished!”

After Kimber removed herself from Stormer’s body Stormer walked over to her phone to call the Chinese restaurant. Once the order was placed the couple caught up with each other. Although there were some things Kimber just couldn’t talk about because she signed an NDA which was _killing_ her.

Then, the doorbell rang.

The second Kimber heard the doorbell she slouched in her chair to get out of sight.

“I really think that’s excessive,” Stormer said as she walked past. “They’ll just think I have you over as a friend. Please don’t make the delivery guy think I’m eating all that food alone.”

Kimber sat up properly. “Yeah you’re right.”

Stormer opened her door and smiled at the delivery driver. “Good evening.”

“Good evening,” The delivery driver gave the price and then made conversation with Stormer as she counted out the money.

“So how are doing tonight.”

“Pretty good, you?” Stormer held the dollar amount for the food in her hand as she counted out the tip.

“Can’t complain, it’s a beautiful night.”

“It really is,” Stormer gave the driver the first stack of bills, and as she handed over the second stack she said, “And here’s your tip.”

“Thank you, you’re too generous.”

“Nonsense,” Stormer took the bags of food as they were handed to her. “My first job was as a delivery driver. So I’ve been there.”

The driver warmly chuckled. “Okay. And for always being so generous, the next time you order from us you’re getting extra fortune cookies.”

“You have a deal.”

“Have a good night.”

“You too, bye.” Stormer closed the door behind and driver and Kimber immediately joined her to help carry the bags to the kitchen.

“I’m so excited,” Kimber walked with a bounce in each step. “The beef and broccoli here is the absolute best.”

“I like the chicken chow mein,” Stormer put out plates for her and Kimber.

“Also good. Everything is!”

After the food was divvied up the couple sat down in the living room and ate.

“So how much did you tip that delivery driver anyway?” Kimber asked before taking her first bite.

“Thirty percent,” Stormer replied as she munched on a spring roll.

“That _is_ a lot,” Kimber could barely believe her ears. “I usually just do around fifteen-ish. I’m bad at percentages, so I do ten because for that you just drop the last digit, and then half of ten. That’s fifteen, right?”

“Yeah that’s a pretty average tip,” Stormer quickly reminded herself of just how much money goes into Starlight Foundation. “Worst I ever got was two percent.”

“Two percent…”

“Ten divided by five.”

Kimber pouted at Stormer. ”I wasn’t trying to figure out the math. I was trying to figure out why anybody would tip that little. How harsh.”

“It is.”

Monty finally realized that there was food and flopped next to Kimber looking extremely cute.

“You’re a greedy man, C. Montgomery Purrns,” Kimber locked eyes with Monty.

Stormer chuckled. “What was that name?”

“I thought it would be a cute nickname for Monty.”

“I’m pretty sure nicknames are supposed to be shorter than the real name…”

“Alright Stormer.”

“Stage names don’t count.”

Kimber giggled. “Jem, Raya, Roxy, Jetta…”

Stormer moodily munched on her food. _“Fine._ Pizzazz picked mine by the way.”

“It was a good choice. I was just poking fun.”

“I know.”

“Say…” Kimber’s will grew weak. “Can cats eat chicken?”

“They eat birds, so probably,” Stormer replied with a shrug. “But don’t give Monty table scraps. He has cat food to eat. And not the cheap stuff either.”

“Okay first, aaawww… poor birdies… Second, I think that explains why Monty is always here. You spoil him.”

“As long as he’s under my roof, he gets the best there is.”

“Dooooes that go for anybody under your roof?”

“I’d say yes, but I know cheap chocolates are your guilty pleasure.”

“Best is relative,” Kimber shrugged.

“In that case, yeah. You will get the best while you’re here.”

“Best Chinese food, best pizza, best one dollar box of chocolates, and best girlfriend. I live a blessed life.”

“So do I.”

A delicious dinner was shared between the girlfriends.

And afterwards Stormer went with her plan to bring Kimber with her in the car as she picked up Roxy for drinks.

* * *

Kimber decided to stop by the kitchen to tell everybody that she won’t be home for long, she’s just changing outfits and putting on some makeup and then going out for drinks.

And before she even got into the kitchen she could hear Rio arguing with Jerrica.

“I’m just saying I’m surprised that Kimber didn’t break up with Stormer,” Rio did a poor job of defending himself. “We were all thinking it.”

“No we weren’t!” Jerrica shouted. “We were thinking that Stormer and Kimber are perfect for each other. You _saw_ how happy Kimber was to see Stormer.”

Kimber barged into the kitchen and stormed up to Rio while glaring at him with an intensity he had never seen before.

“How DARE you!” Kimber jabbed her finger into Rio’s face. “I come home to change out of my gross airplane clothes I slept in before going out for drinks with the best girlfriend anybody could ask for. _And I hear you calling me shallow!”_

“Shallow?” Rio took a half-step back to avoid Kimber’s wrath.

“You’re such an ass!” After yelling “Jerk” Kimber stomped out of the room.

“Aja, you’ve been out with Kimber and Stormer before,” Rio turned to her. “Where is she headed?”

“Why should I tell you?” Aja glared at Rio. “For one, you’re just going to insult Kimber more. Besides, _you_ don’t belong in that space anyway.”

“I just want to explain myself. I wasn’t calling Kimber shallow.”

“Sounded like you were to me.”

“I’m referring to what Kimber did to poor Sean.”

“SEAN?!” Jerrica shouted. “This is about Sean?!”

“Of course it is! I feel sorry for the guy.”

“Out.”

“Huh?”

“I said out!” Jerrica pointed at the door.

Rio threw up his hands and stormed out of the mansion.

Roxy watched Rio from the back seat as he walked by the car. _“Jesus,_ is it me or does Rio look even pissier than usual?”

“He musta got in a fight with Jerrica again,” Stormer wasn’t as surprised by the sight as Roxy was. “This happens.”

“Why are they a couple again? Isn’t he cheating on her?”

“Beats the hell outta me…” Stormer saw familiar red hair. “Oh there’s Kimber! …And I think I was wrong. Looks like the fight was between her and Rio.”

Kimber slid into the passenger’s seat and was so focused on her fight she didn’t even think to offer Stormer a hello.

“What’s wrong?” Stormer asked.

“Rio’s the worst,” Kimber slid down in her seat and crossed her arms.

“Well, I think we can all agree on that here, but if you still feel up to going out, I’ll need you to sit up and wear your seatbelt.”

Kimber did just that. “Okay you can drive now.”

“Hmm…” Stormer didn’t start the engine. “Maybe we should talk about what happened first.”

Kimber looked at Stormer, taking in her beautiful rounded face, and felt a tug in her heart. “I don’t think I should.”

“Was he being a dick about Stormer?” Roxy put the pieces together.

“Ah. He made a comment about me being fat?”

“A little…” Kimber slumped again. “He said he was surprised I didn’t break up with you.”

“So he called you shallow,” Stormer concluded.

“That jackass!” Roxy exclaimed. “Want me to give Zipper a call?”

“Let’s see how the night goes first,” Kimber replied.

Nobody was entirely sure if she was joking or not. But it was clear that they weren’t going to get much else out of Kimber for the moment so Stormer started to drive to the bar.

* * *

“I have to ask,” Roxy slammed her hand on the table, she was already a couple beers in. “How in the hell are Jerrica and Rio a couple? Jerrica’s a standup gal, and Rio’s a jackass who’s cheating on her.”

Stormer side-eyed Roxy, sure, she was wondering the same thing but that’s not something you just ask.

“I don’t know,” Kimber groaned. “Our mom put a lot of emphases on how important a person’s first love is. For all I know that might be it. I think that’s silly personally. Stormer’s like, my _tenth_ love.”

Roxy choked on her drink. “TENTH?!”

“What can I say? I was a little boy-crazy for a while. But I guess what I needed was to find the right girl. Go figure.”

“I’m flattered Kimber,” Stormer said with a blush.

“D’aaawwww,” Roxy gave Stormer a smirk. “You’re special~”

“Stormer’s easily the cutest Misfit, always has been,” Kimber shrugged.

“Hey what about me?” Roxy asked.

“…You’re the coolest Misfit,” Kimber replied.

“Hell yeah! Cool’s better than cute if you ask me!”

“Oh by the way Kimber, I do have good news for us,” Stormer held Kimber’s hand. “In a couple days we’ll have a new harp player in town for us to check out.”

“What happened to the other girl?”

“Well… she…” Stormer sighed. “She figured out that the song is about us and said that performing with a gay couple would be career suicide.”

Kimber frowned, her mood had turned sour again. “Do you ever just hate society?”

“You’re asking two Misfits, and one’s barely literate, what do you think?” Roxy laughed.

“No I’m serious,” Kimber grit her teeth. “It’s such bull how me and Mary have to keep things under wraps, and how we can’t get a harp player because she’s afraid that performing with us will ruin her career. And how Cool Trash will take anything and run with it and ruin people’s lives.”

“Kimber…” Stormer rubbed her girlfriend’s back. “I know, it’s hard. But we’ll find somebody, Video knows a lot of people and we can always ask Maggie again. She’s my cousin, I’m sure that if I sweet talk her a little she’ll come around.”

“This isn’t just about the harp player, Mary. It’s about…” Kimber eventually slammed her fist on the table. “Everything!”

“I know… Let’s just look at the bright side for now, alright?”

Kimber wasn’t receptive to Stormer’s side-hug.

“Look,” Stormer sighed. “Things will get better, we need to keep this in mind. And until then we should take the little victories we can get, alright?”

“Alright…” Kimber didn’t sound enthused. “So this new harp player… Have you heard them yet?”

“No not yet, Video promises she’s good though.”

“I’m glad Video finally warmed up to you at least.”

“Aja vouched for me. Well, Video went out for drinks with me and Aja and saw how buddy-buddy we’ve become.”

“Thank you boozy-Aja,” Kimber was starting to sound like her usual self again.

“I dunno about that, Video didn’t like a few of our jokes.”

“Should I be worried?”

“Probably not. I mean yeah, when she’s drunk Aja doesn’t have much of a filter and she’s pretty hilarious. But not to everybody apparently. But we didn’t say anything _terrible.”_

“Kimber, too many of your friends are goody-goodies,” Roxy chimed in. “Is that why you’re so sugary sweet on the outside, but vicious on the inside?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, I’m sweet through-and-through,” Kimber put her hand to her chest. “I just have a bit of a temper sometimes.”

“Yeah that’s what I mean about vicious,” Roxy grinned. “And that’s why you’re the best Hologram.”

“You’re only saying that because I buy you drinks.”

“Nah, I liked you the most even before you and Stormer became a thing. You’ve yelled at me how many times? Can’t say any of your sisters ever did that.”

“I’m pretty sure Aja has too.”

“Yeah I like Aja too. But not as much because she’s never tried to drink me under the table like you have. Man can you ever hold your liquor. Who woulda thought a pretty pink princess could match a street kid like me?”

Kimber giggled. “Nobody would have.”

“And then there’s Stormer…”

_“Yeah Stormer!”_

“Hey one of us needs to stay sober enough to call a cab,” Stormer pointed at the pair. “And keep _you two_ out of trouble. Do I need you remind you of what happened the last time I let loose?”

Kimber and Roxy both looked away. “No…”

“Thought as much.”

Stormer noticed a familiar man walking in a puffed-out self-important way.

“Oh Christ,” she said into her glass, Kimber _just_ got over what happened.

“Rio! What are you doing here?” Kimber glared at him.

“Yeah straighty, get outta here!” Roxy swatted at him.

Stormer stayed silent and gave Rio the most scathing look she could.

“Look, I’m just here to clear something up,” Rio tried to control his temper.

“Is this man bothering you girls?” The owner of the bar, a tall drag queen, asked.

“Yes, but I know him,” Kimber replied. “He’s dating my sister so he can stay for now. Depends on how mad he makes me.”

“Just give me the word and he’s gone.”

“Will do,” Kimber returned her attention back to Rio. “Okay, so what insulting thing are you gonna say next?”

Rio groaned. “Don’t-don’t go into this expecting the worst out of me. I wasn’t calling you shallow. I said what I did because of what you did to Sean.”

Kimber stood up and shouted. “What does Sean have to do with anything?!”

“Are you kidding me?” Stormer also stood up and placed her hand on Kimber’s shoulder, she clenched her other fist.

“Sean and Kimber were apart from each other for only a few months and she dumped the guy.”

“Get. Out.” Kimber took in a deep breath to try to keep herself from doing something she’d regret.

“What is with you Benton sisters and saying that? At least tell me _why_ you want me to be gone,” The volume of Rio’s voice rose as he spoke.

“I think it’s pretty damn obvious,” Kimber took a few steps around the table before Stormer stopped her. “Mary, let me go.”

“I’m sorry I can’t. He’s not worth getting kicked out over,” Stormer firmly held onto Kimber’s arm and turned her head to face Rio. “Look, it’s taking a lot for me to not leap over that table myself. So just leave and think about what you said.”

“I don’t get it!” Rio threw his arms out to the side.

“How clueless can you get?” Roxy has now risen to her feet.

With three angry rock musicians glaring at him Rio started to rethink his decision, especially with a fourth set of eyes now burning into his back. And more started to join them. In any other situation Rio would double-down but it hit him just how out of place he was.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Rio took a couple steps back.

“No we won’t!” Kimber shouted. “Now get out!”

“Okay, I’m going,” Rio turned around then briskly walked out of the bar.

“I guess I wasn’t needed after all,” The owner said. “Y’all chased him away yourselves.”

She smiled warmly. “You know what will make you feel better? Karaoke. It’s a lot of fun.”

“Since when did you have karaoke here?” Kimber’s eyes lit up as she looked at the owner of the bar.

“Oh yeah… you were out of town for a while. A few months now.”

“I think that’s a great idea! Are you two up for it?”

“Sure!” Stormer replied, and Roxy nodded. “I’ve never done it before.”

“Neither have I!” Roxy chimed in. “Let’s give it a go!”

“Thank you for the suggestion,” Kimber smiled at the owner.

“Oh don’t mention it my dear,” She waved Kimber off. “Anything to see that adorable smile of yours.”

The group walked over to the karaoke section with their drinks.

Roxy read over the song selection with Stormer.

“Hey!” She pointed in the booklet. “That’s us! Kimber, you need to sing ‘I am a Giant.’”

“Ooohhhh!” Realization flashed on Stormer’s face. “That’s a good choice. Kimber, you definitely need to sing that.”

“Alright, but if I sing a Misfits song you both need to sing Holograms songs.”

“Sure!” Roxy grinned cheekily. “Pick any song you want! If Jem can sing it, so can I.”

Kimber whispered to Stormer.

“I dunno,” Stormer whispered back. “She might sing the wrong version.”

“Then I’d at least know what you recorded,” Kimber addressed Roxy. “I want you to sing ‘There’s a Melody Playing.’”

“Which one is that?” Roxy asked.

“The one we stole,” Stormer replied.

“Oh!” Roxy burst out laughing. “You’re a petty little thing, aren’t ya?”

“Sometimes I am,” Kimber gave Roxy a devious look. “Either way I get a win. You sing the actual song and I hear you sing ‘I’m in love’ at the top of your lungs. Do the wrong song and I finally get to know what you guys did to our music.”

“You’re on! But you go up first.”

“Now to pick for Stormer…” Kimber flipped through the song book some more.

Roxy joined Kimber and the two whispered to each other. “Stormer’s pretty mad, do you guys have anything even approaching aggressive? Other than ‘Last Laugh’ that is. That’d just bring back bad memories.”

“I guess there’s ‘Beat This’ if you want strong lyrics. We had Raya and Craig perform it when we did our talent search.”

“I’ll take your word for it. I can’t say I know your whole discography.”

“Okay Stormer,” Kimber cleared her throat. “Me and Roxy agree, we want you to sing ‘Beat This.’”

“Sure, I can give it a go,” Stormer nodded. “As long as I don’t have to reach any of those high notes Jem’s known for.”

“You can totally do it!” Roxy jabbed her finger at Stormer. “I know you can, you’re just scared to try.”

“See, I’m in two camps,” Kimber said. “I have tried to hit high notes and I can’t quite do it. Me and Stormer are in the same register. But I _would_ like to see her try.”

Stormer grumbled. “Well, if you want me to. I can try.”

“But! You’re in luck. ‘Beat This’ has no high notes.”

“Alright then.”

“So we have our first round of songs!” Roxy whooped. “Kimber, you’re up first.”

Singing ‘I am a Giant’ was just what the doctor ordered. Kimber found herself completely invigorated by the lyrics. And the two Misfits were happy with their choice, and so was the rest of the crowd.

Then Roxy went up next with her take on ‘There’s a Melody Playing’ which Kimber found very fun. Roxy sang in a very Misfits-style way which was refreshing. And hearing Roxy sing ‘I’m in love’ at the top of her lungs in front of a bunch of people was 1000% worth the price of admission in Kimber’s opinion.

And finally, came Stormer. She had a blast with ‘Beat This’ and was thankful for Kimber taking mercy on her with the song choice. The people listening who had never heard either of Stormer and Kimber’s albums they made together were stunned by the power behind Stormer’s singing voice. And this gave Stormer to confidence to agree to trying to hit one of Jem’s high notes. She fell a little flat, but Kimber’s shining face made it hard to be upset about it.

The first handful of songs were so fun that the group decided to keep going, picking various songs from a variety of artists, and at Roxy’s suggestion they eventually moved onto heavy metal. Roxy thought seeing cute little Kimber sing heavy metal would be a riot, and do her some good for getting out some of her anger towards Rio.

And she was right.

* * *

The next morning Kimber woke up and both her head and throat were killing her.

She groaned before rolling out of bed and opening the curtains to take in the morning sun.

A bird landed in the windowsill.

“Good morning,” Kimber said.

Or… at least she attempted to.

“Oh no,” Kimber thought. “I overdid it. Crap, how am I going to explain this to Jerrica? I’m a professional singer! What a rookie mistake…”

Kimber decided to just cross that bridge when she gets there and went down to the kitchen to eat breakfast and drink some honey tea.

“Good morning Kimber,” Jerrica greeted her cheerfully.

Kimber waved at Jerrica before opening up the fridge to figure out something she could even eat without suffering.

“What’s wrong? You’re being so quiet.”

Upon hearing the question Kimber turned around and gestured at her poor throat.

“Ah. Sore throat. You should at least be able to spare me a greeting.”

“Uh-uh,” Kimber squeaked out as she shook her head.

“Ooohhhh…” It finally hit Jerrica. “Laryngitis.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Kimber gave Jerrica a nod.

“Oh dear. I hope it clears up soon. It’s a good thing we don’t have any recordings today. We’re on break!”

Kimber pumped her fist and Jerrica laughed.

Then it hit Kimber… And she hit her head against the fridge door.

The harp player…

_Of course_ something would happen and Stormer would have to deal with finding one alone again.

“What’s wrong with Kimber?” Aja asked once she entered the kitchen to get a snack.

“Laryngitis,” Jerrica replied.

“No...” Aja took in the look of despair on Kimber’s face. “I think it’s a bit more than that.”

Getting tired of playing charades Kimber took the stack of sticky notes off of the fridge and wrote what was wrong.

[Yes, larengitis. But also, harp player auditions in a couple days. I’m leaving it up to Mary again apparently. I feel awful about it.]

“Well, first that’s not how you spell laryngitis,” Aja said and got an exasperated glare from Kimber. “I know, I know, sounding it out is nonsense and doesn’t even work half the time. And second, at least you can still be there with her this time. You just won’t be able to speak. But you can write down your thoughts like you’re doing right now."

Kimber smiled and gave Aja a hug.

“Yeah I know, I’m great. Now I’ll put the kettle on so you can have some tea for your throat.”

“What was that about?” Jerrica asked.

“Kimber and Stormer are still looking for a harp player,” Aja replied. “Their last one bailed after putting two and two together. There’s a new one auditioning in a few days.”

“Oh dear, I’m sorry Kimber. I had no idea.”

“And Stormer's cousin, Maggie, doesn’t want to do it because she owns a small business and doesn’t want people coming in just because she performed with two famous people. She says it’s hard enough constantly being told that she looks just like Stormer from The Misfits.”

“Oh I see.”

Kimber tapped the notepad to get Aja and Jerrica's attention.

[Well, I guess she won’t have that second problem anymore.]

“That's awful,” Aja said with a chuckle. “But true. The resemblance isn’t as there anymore. Isn't Maggie really tall too?”

[Super tall.]

“You'd think that’d be enough, not to mention her beauty mark is in the completely wrong spot.”

[She’s always behind a counter so nobody can tell she’s in flats.]

“Good point.”

[And Mary’s a little under average height but because she’s always in heels hardly anybody knows.]

“Wait, who does she get her height from? Or lack thereof... Her mom is a **_big_** woman.”

“Aja!” Jerrica scolded her. “That’s so rude...”

[No. She is a big lady. Like, allover big. Even in my heels I had to look up to make eye-contact with her.]

[Anyway Mary’s dad is a little short, remember?]

“Oh yeah, Craig takes after him,” Aja recalled. “But Craig’s more muscular. I guess Stormer takes after their dad too.”

“I wish I could have met them,” Jerrica sighed. “I have absolutely no clue what you two are talking about.”

“Maybe this year you can,” Aja said. “I think they’d like to meet you. Right Kimber?”

Kimber nodded.

“You should ask first before inviting me,” Jerrica brought her sisters back down to earth. “It would be rude to just bring me along unannounced.”

“By the way Kimber, how come you’re calling Stormer by her real name right now?”

[Mary’s shorter than Stormer.]

[Not like you can’t tell who I’m talking about anyway.]

“Ah makes sense.”

Lela walked into the kitchen just as the kettle started to whistle. “Rio’s here.”

Kimber immediately slammed the kettle down to keep herself from throwing it in rage.

“Oh…” Lela read the room. “Should I have not let him in?”

“No,” Jerrica sighed. “Thank you Lela. Rio’s timing is just poor. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Get well soon Kimber, bye,” Lela gave Kimber a wave before leaving.

And Kimber looked at Aja, puzzled.

Aja shrugged. “How should I know? She’s always been sharp.”

Rio was close behind Lela.

“So… I take it Kimber’s still mad at me,” he said.

“It’s not just her,” Aja crossed her arms. “Make it quick Rio.”

“Huh, I’d think Kimber would say that.”

“Well, she lost her voice so I’m saying it for her.”

“Oh good, maybe this time I can get a word in without her yelling at me.”

“I can do plenty of yelling for the both of us.”

“Look,” Rio sighed. “Like I said last night. I wasn’t calling Kimber shallow. I’m upset because she not only dumped Sean after being away from him for a few months, she did it over the phone.”

Kimber glared at Rio and started to furiously write.

“If you’re going to write any curse-words make sure you scratch them out so none of the little ones can read them,” Jerrica calmly said from the table.

[WHAT ELSE WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO!!! KEEP PRETENDING TO BE INTO HIM???]

“No! Of course not!” Rio realized he just dug himself in deeper.

“Was Kimber supposed to cheat on Sean then?” Aja was on the same page as Kimber. “Get real. It was either that, which you apparently hate more than anything else in the world; or break it off with Sean over the phone.”

[But cheating is okay if you do it Rio!]

Aja read Kimber’s note and then pointed at it. “Yeah exactly!”

“Jerrica… back me up here.”

“I don’t think so,” Jerrica sounded calm, but it was clear she was fuming too. “Normally yes, it’s tactless to break up with somebody over the phone. But Sean was overseas so Kimber had no other choice.”

“Ha!” Aja was feeling a little petty.

“Well…” Rio took a deep breath. “I finally got to make myself clear.”

“That you did,” Aja knew exactly what Kimber wanted to say. “By the way, you were way more upset about it than Sean was. He’s still friends with Kimber.”

“He even went out for drinks with both her and Stormer,” Jerrica added.

[They even hit it off after getting over the Pizzazz thing!]

Rio read and reread the last note. “Oh… I had no idea.”

Jerrica saw Kimber’s hand twitch. “Kimber, don’t flip him off. We don’t need any of our girls to pick that up from you.”

So instead of what she originally wanted to do, Kimber bopped Rio over the head with the sticky notes.

“Well, at least we got to have a discussion about this,” Rio took a few steps back. “That’s all I wanted. I’ll see you when I see you.”

With that, Rio left.

“I can’t believe that’s why he was mad,” Jerrica said.

“Well he was rooting for Sean, and Rio was never happy about Stormer,” Aja said and caught Kimber before she sat down with her tea. “Don’t forget the honey.”

Kimber gave Aja a thumbs-up and made sure to put some honey into her tea before sitting down at the table.

Ashley poked her head into the kitchen, clearly checking for Rio.

“Yeah he’s gone,” Aja knew exactly what was going on.

“Okay good, Lela told me that Kimber’s in rough shape; figured I should check up on her,” Ashley said before taking a seat next to Kimber. “So what’s up?”

“She lost her voice,” Jerrica spoke for Kimber.

“How’d you manage to do that?” Ashley asked Kimber.

And she replied by pantomiming a microphone.

“Too much karaoke?”

Ashley got a nod.

“Yeah but you’re a pro-singer. Just what did you _do?”_

Kimber replied by head-banging and delight spread all across Ashley’s face. “No freaking way! Oh! I wish I coulda seen that!”

“Did I see that right?” Aja chortled. “I’m with Ashley! I wish I was there! Let me guess, Roxy?”

A thumbs-up was Aja’s confirmation.

“Hell yeah!” Aja cheered, her mood dampened slightly when Aja noticed the disapproving look Jerrica gave her over her choice in words. “I thought something was up last night when Rox-”

“-Ashley, can you step outside for a minute?” Jerrica cut Aja off.

“Why? I know Kimber gets drunk sometimes,” Ashley shrugged. “We all do.”

Jerrica buried her face into her hands. Once again regretting her stupid decision to run off with Riot. The Starlight Girls learned way too much about drinking.

“…Please just go.”

“Fine,” Ashley whined.

“So anyway, do you remember coming home?” Aja asked, and got a head-shake. “Oh wow, totally trashed, huh. Stormer was too which was completely bizarre. You and her could barely walk and clung to Roxy for dear life. For some reason she and Stormer had swapped roles.”

[Mary mentioned always having to be the responsible one. She was mad last night.]

[Guess Roxy told Mary she'll stay a little sober.]

“I see… Hard to believe you and two Misfits have a system,” Aja said. “Of course with what happened the last time the system broke down…”

Kimber gave Aja a look that to anybody would mean, “Talk about it and I’ll kill you.”

To which Aja laughed. “But seriously, I need to go out with all three of you sometime. Roxy doesn’t still hate me, right?”

[No. Mary’s talked you up enough.]

“Yyeeeessss. Girl’s night!”

Kimber started to laugh but was cut-off by a nasty cough.

“Try not to laugh,” Jerrica said as she rubbed Kimber’s back. “You need to avoid any strain. Now let’s figure out breakfast for you.”

“Remember when Kimber got laryngitis when she was little? Jacqui got her a bowl of cereal and let it soak until it was all mushy.”

Kimber made a face.

“She also put heaps of sugar on it so you’d eat it.” Kimber shrugged. ”Yeah I figured you’d be able to live with that.”

“I can’t say it’s the best breakfast, but it’s better than nothing.”

Jerrica prepared Kimber’s breakfast and the three chatted until Kimber was done eating. She then decided to move to the living room and veg out on the comfy couch.

The doorbell rang.

“Coming!” Jerrica called out as she walked to the front door, and then she opened it up. “Good afternoon Stormer.”

“Good afternoon, just checking up on Kimber; she really went all out at karaoke last night,” What Stormer didn’t mention was the container she was holding.

“And it sounds like you did too,” Jerrica immediately noticed that Stormer’s voice was scratchy and cracking even more than usual. “Kimber’s lost her voice. How is Roxy doing?”

“Wow. I didn’t expect you to ask about her.”

“Roxy is friends with both you and Kimber so of course I would.”

“Makes sense. Uh, yeah, Roxy’s in great shape. Compared to me and Kimber she’s an expert at singing heavy metal,” Stormer finished with a laugh.

“Somehow I’m not surprised,” Jerrica also laughed.

“Oh by the way, I’m also dropping off some snacks,” Stormer finally addressed the gift, she opened it up revealing an assortment of fruit tarts. “Don’t worry about returning the container, I’m not missing it.”

“Those looks delicious,” Jerrica found herself captivated. “Are they for everybody?”

“Now that is up to Kimber.”

“Well, thank you Stormer. This is very thoughtful. I have to admit I’m a little surprised.”

“Uh, yep. Turns out I like baking.”

“So you’ve never done it before?”

“A little in Home-Ec, and I had fun then. But I haven’t in years.”

“Oh, why not?”

“Jerrica, asking her to bake sweets she can’t eat is how you kill a woman.”

Jerrica warmly chuckled. “Okay. Say, why don’t you come inside for a visit? Kimber would love to see you; especially after dealing with Rio this morning.”

“Is he still here? Because if he is I might deck him. No offense.”

“None taken. I admit I came close myself,” Jerrica shook her head. “He left about ten minutes ago.”

“In that case, sure! I can visit for a bit.”

Stormer followed Jerrica through the house as the two continued their conversation.

“Oh by the way, Rio said what he did because he was mad at Kimber for breaking up with Sean over the phone. It’s still not _okay_ but it is _better_ than what we all initially thought.”

“Okay but,” Stormer checked for little girls, “what the fuck _else_ was Kimber s’posed to do? _Fly to England?”_

“I didn’t even think of that. Of course the answer is still ‘no’ because that is ridiculous. Rio was being ridiculous. I just hope he’s over it now. It’s been how long?”

“Almost three years.”

“Almost three years!” Jerrica threw up her hands then growled out, “That man...”

“Aw, how heartwarming,” Stormer didn’t quite intend to sound as sarcastic as she did. “Wait. That came out wrong. Thank you for supporting me and Kimber.”

“I don’t need your thanks Stormer,” Jerrica smiled. “Out of all of Kimber’s partners, you’re easily my favourite.”

Stormer smiled shyly. “I bet you say that to everyone.”

“Nope,” Jerrica crossed her arms. “I’ve made it very clear to some of Kimber’s exes that I don’t like them.”

Stormer chuckled. “Geeze. You know, I always think of Aja as being Kimber’s scary big sister. But I’m starting to learn that it’s actually you.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not scary.”

Stormer gave Jerrica a look, with one eyebrow raised. _“Really?_ You’re an amazing quick-change artist. You even put Clash to shame. You could leave me in a dark alley and nobody would know it was you.”

“Ah, but I would never do that,” Jerrica snorted and started to laugh. “Aja might if you make Kimber cry hard enough.”

“True. You and Aja are two different kinds of scary. You’re mama bear scary.”

“You know what, I’ll take that. A bear keeps her cubs safe.”

The two reached a doorway and Jerrica gestured into the room. “Kimber’s in here.”

“Thanks.”

The second Kimber saw Stormer she grinned with glee and stretched out her arms while opening and closing her hands.

“Oh man, your voice really is shot,” Stormer put the fruit tarts down on the table before giving Kimber her much desired hug. “Besides the obvious, how ya holding up?”

Kimber waggled her hand in response while making a face.

“Yeah Jerrica mentioned Rio being Rio. She also told me why he was so mad at you.”

While glaring at nobody in particular Kimber threw up her hands.

“He’s so stupid,” Stormer gave Kimber a kiss on the temple. “But let’s forget about him for now. I baked you something~”

After opening up the container Kimber gasped and without hesitation took out a tart.

“There’s enough for everybody. But I also told Jerrica that whether or not you share is up to you.”

Kimber puffed out her cheeks and Stormer softly laughed.

“I know you. You’re a glutton when it comes to your favourite desserts. So don’t look at me like that. _Are you gonna share with the rest of the class?”_

Kimber stuck out her tongue.

“I can’t tell if that’s a yes or a no.” Stormer got a thumbs-up from Kimber. “Okay, I’ll let them know. So... what do you think?”

“Yummy, thanks,” Kimber barely managed to get those two words out.

“Oh your poor throat, let me make it better,” Stormer started to plant kisses going up Kimber’s neck. She enjoyed feeling the vibrations as Kimber giggled with each kiss.

Eventually Stormer reached Kimber’s fruit-flavoured lips.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me explain myself real quick. IDW Stormer is fucking adorable.
> 
> Okay... But seriously. Yeah, I saw IDW Stormer and fell in love and decided to work some of that into 80s Stormer for my time skip stuff. This has been a thing with me for quite a while actually, I even hinted at it a little in my first Jem fanfic. 
> 
> No you will never know for sure what happened when the trio's system broke down. Have fun! Imagine any weird and vaguely legal situation you want!
> 
> Oh by the way, there's a very good chance this will get a second chapter based around Kimber and Stormer trying to find their harp player.


End file.
